Data Flow Diagram EXAMPLE [How to Create Data Flow Diagrams]

A Data Flow Diagram (DFD) example is essential to understanding how to create one. That's because a unique trait of the data flow diagram is that there are several levels of the diagram, including context diagrams, level 0 data flow diagram, level 1 data flow diagram, level 2 data flow diagram, level 3 data flow diagram, and so on! Data flow diagrams (DFDs) in software engineering illustrate data transformation by modeling data sources, the key activities that process data, and how output data is used. If you need to know how to create data flow diagrams and need a data flow diagram example, this is the tutorial for you!
In this lesson, I discuss the differences between the different data flow diagram levels and how to create them using Amazon as our case study. Also, there will be an example of the various DFD levels. Business analysts can use data flow diagrams as a tool to draw inferences regarding requirements at various levels.
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A Data Flow Diagram (DFD) is used to:
- Show where data comes from and goes
- Show which activities transform data
- Show which outputs are stored in the system
- Show which outputs are utilized by other activities or entities
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[@thebadoc]

You might like my tutorial on ENTITY RELATIONSHIP DIAGRAMS (ERDs)! Check it out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rX7KmqWGbN9noZo For Business Analysis TEMPLATES, check out our BA Templates and Elicitation Questions Package here: the-business-analysis-doctor-self-paced-learning.thinkific.com/courses/business-analysis-template-package

[@RalphOpinion]

great work. I have a different method of process mapping and see myself sticking to VIsio. WHat do you use for different diagrams? This is exactly my business I wonder why you never showed up on my feed

[@Vanessaaaa12-1]

Wow, this tutorial really tackles Data Flow Diagrams in a way that’s easy to follow. I like how you used Amazon as a case study. It really helped connect the dots. If you’re diving into DFDs for the first time, this video is gold!

[@e.denise1450]

This is the best explanation of the different levels that I've seen. Before I couldn't understand when to use the other levels. Many thanks!🙏🙏

[@thebadoc]

Excellent! I'm glad I was able to clarify that for you.

[@hugofourie1193]

Struggled to find the right information until I found this video. Great info, thanks!

[@thebadoc]

You're most welcome! Glad to provide you with the information you needed!

[@andrineethling3130]

This is my favourite technique to use. Thank you for this video. It cleared up a couple of questions I had.

[@thebadoc]

Excellent! Glad I was able to clear those up for you! This technique is pretty high on my list of favorites as well.

[@dimplecastelino6081]

Thank you for explaining the Data Flow Diagram with an example. The physical and logical DFD perspective is very helpful.

[@thebadoc]

You are most welcome! Yes, examples are essential for this type of content! Glad I could help!!

[@rembautimes8808]

Very good explanation. Documenting data flow diagrams is a regulatory requirement for banks here in Singapore and your explanation helps clarify this requirement

[@thebadoc]

Thank you for the comment and for the context on how you are using DFDs. I am very intrigued by how viewers are using the information in the videos.

[@SchandYu]

I love your video! The step-by-step example was especially helpful in understanding the concepts. The rules and best practices is a must-note too! Thanks!

[@thebadoc]

You're welcome! Yes, the rules and best practices are essential for consistency and accuracy.

[@SchandYu]

@@thebadoc Great content!

[@abhikgupta9312]

That's literally the best explanation I've seen so far! Thanks!

[@thebadoc]

Hi, Abhik! You are very welcome and thank you so much for that feedback! I'm glad to know it resonates with you!

[@user-fk4lp8nk4o]

Great Tutorial. Very helpful for someone new to DFD and how to visually understand it.

[@thebadoc]

Hi, Tony! I'm glad you found the content helpful! Thanks for the feedback and for watching!

[@tamaracopple2301]

I need to create a DFD for the first time tomorrow and am glad I brushed up on the conventions and bet practices. Thanks!

[@thebadoc]

Awesome!! Best of luck tomorrow. Let me know how it goes!

[@osamazafar7350]

Hands down! the best channel for BA aspirants.

[@thebadoc]

Thank you so much for that Osama! I really appreciate it!

[@danielchisala1196]

you explain so well sir with great simplicity, thank you very much, looking to more of such content

[@thebadoc]

Thanks and you are most welcome! I'm glad I was able to explain the content in a way that resonates with you.

[@limeery6264]

Larry Wheels if he never used steroids. Neat tutorial btw

[@thebadoc]

Ha! I haven't gotten that one before. Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@shayan9799]

Thanks man. This was the best video I have seen on Dataflow Diagrams. Now I think that I can handle the upcoming Software Engineering exams

[@thebadoc]

You're welcome and I'm glad I could help. Let me know how your exams go!

[@Iam_HumanBeing]

Just passing by your tutorial and made me finish it 👏👍

[@thebadoc]

Great job! I hope it was worth coming back!

[@ezdakk3768]

This is insightful. Thank you soo much, my course mates have to see this, I'm spreading the gospel!🎉

[@thebadoc]

You are so very welcome! And thank you so much for sharing with your course mates. I hope they appreciate the information as much as you do!

[@dorothyb.]

I found your explanation very clear and useful. I too am doing a course in software design. It fully online but some of the concepts are quite challenging. Whats an entity and whats an attribute etc. My background is nursing but i work in health informatics and realise i need to know far more on the IMT side

[@thebadoc]

Wow! I'm glad you found this information useful. It sounds like you have quite the journey ahead of you. I hope my content helps supplement your learning experience. Also be sure to check out my video on entity relationship diagrams. That should be helpful to you as well. You can check that out here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rX7KmqWGbN9noZo. If there are other concepts you would like me to cover, feel free to drop a comment!

[@dorothyb.]

Many thanks and I feel sure there will be more stuff I have to get my head round

[@aydzz]

Thanks for the video, really great explanations and examples.

[@thebadoc]

You are very welcome! I'm glad the explanation and examples resonated with you!

[@laviniahk]

Thank you so much for this tutorial, I was unfamiliar with DFDs and thought it would be difficult to understand but you have explained in such a detailed manner that I have grasped how to create one!

[@thebadoc]

Wow! That just made my day! I'm so glad I was able to present the information in a way that is consumable. Let me know when you create your first DFD!

[@bellatissiny403]

Your explanation was amazing! Thank you so much!

[@thebadoc]

You're very welcome! And thank you so much for watching. I hope you gained a lot from the information.

[@TheLifeOfTEA]

this was really helpful and simple as one's introduction into DFD!

[@thebadoc]

Excellent! I'm glad I was able to present the information in a way that was easy to consume. I hope the information serves you well.

[@jimsteele916]

awesome introduction to this topic. Thanks

[@thebadoc]

You are very welcome! I hope the information serves you well in your exploration of data flow diagrams.

[@shaderone07]

wow..amazing explanation, I'm glad i found this video. (tip: writing down things make everything 'click' fast)

[@thebadoc]

Thank you for those kind words and for watching! I hope it serves you well!

[@ps-037]

Very simple & very good. Tnx from Russia

[@thebadoc]

You're welcome! Thanks for the feedback. So glad you found me!

[@farhad1780]

Thank you for the video! Explanation was way too good

[@thebadoc]

You're welcome! Thank you for the feedback. I hope you gained a lot from it.

[@morranjohansen3108]

Thanks for such a detailed explanation! This is just what I was looking for.

[@thebadoc]

You're very welcome!

[@Johann_]

Thank you very much, it is very helpful! I wonder if there is a mean to show a "dataflow blocker" : that some entry could block the actions of the following process instead of "allowing" it.

[@thebadoc]

You are most welcome! I'm glad you found the information helpful. In terms of the data blocker, it is not a standard part of the DFD notation.But you generally can use an external entity or internal process to represent the blocker. You would just need to label it as such. With the blockers, your flow lines to the other components should be dashed with an arrow head. I hope that helps.

[@Johann_]

@@thebadoc Oh ok, very simple solution, thank you :^)

[@ramielkady938]

I do not believe how good this content is ... Thank you.

[@thebadoc]

You're very welcome and thank you for the kind words! I hope the information serves you well!!!

[@ramielkady938]

@@thebadoc Quick question ... Can you differentiate between Business Analyst and Product Owner ... Is one higher than the other ? Thanks on advance 🙏

[@thebadoc]

@@ramielkady938 Product Owners own the product the team is working on. They are subject matter experts and have the authority to make decisions regarding the product. The BA facilitates the identification of the business needs and goals as well as the requirements needed to achieve those goals. Whether one is higher than the other depends on how the organization perceives the roles. However, it is common for BAs to progress to Product Owners if they are in an Agile environment.

[@user-fo4ri8lr6s]

Very useful I can understand easliy THANKS!!

[@thebadoc]

You're welcome! I'm glad I was able to present the information in a way that resonates with you!

[@deepakmuthyam6218]

Good one. Thank you

[@thebadoc]

You are very welcome! Thanks for the feedback and for watching!

[@aneesasheraz5662]

If the system generates report and sends it to accounting department for approval in that case is the accounting department external? Its not inputting anything the system just send stuff for approval?

[@thebadoc]

Yes, the accounting department would be external. Since it is a destination only, it would be called a sink external. I hope that helps!

[@tokmansite]

Hi, there! Recently I faced with this video and with another source (you could find it by the next text in the google: "Data-flow diagrams (DFDs) model a perspective of the system that is most readily understood by users" (by the way, in that source SSADM notation is used). Well, in that source the way of diagrams and processes numbering differs with yours. They relate the first child diagram (its parent is a context diagram) to lvl 1, but in your video its lvl is 0. Well, the question is "Who is right?" Is there some standard or the primary source of DFD-notation (where the notation was born) where the correct diagrams processes numbering is shown? Thank you much in advance for the answer!

[@thebadoc]

Hello, DFD was generally originated by Larry Constantine, but there have been several other notations that have been popularized as well, such as Yourdon & DeMarco and Ganes & Sarson. I spoke on these different notations in the earlier part of the video. Also, the DFD examples in this video are using the Ganes & Sarson notation. So to answer your question, the variations between the different levels depends on the notation you are using. You can check out the book Structured Design: Fundamentals of a Discipline of Computer Program and Systems Design by Edward Yourdon. That's one of the first publications that discussed DFDs. I hope that helps!

[@masonsingleton3037]

Very clearly articulated! Very helpful and well thought out.

[@thebadoc]

Thank you! Much appreciated

[@JohnSmith-tq1hv]

thanks man, great demonstration, really helpful

[@thebadoc]

Hi, John! You are very welcome. I hope the information serves you well!

[@ROUTINETOURGRAPH]

That was quality content. Thank you White, Keep up

[@thebadoc]

You are most welcome! I'm glad you found the information valuable. Thanks for watching!

[@ROUTINETOURGRAPH]

Put more content for the world to learn, its the best way to leave an impact.@@thebadoc

[@josephdrasin3973]

On your level 0 context diagram (12:18), why are the data flows out of balance for the Amazon "process"? You have User credentials coming in, but not a validation data flow back to the Customer?

[@thebadoc]

Good observation! In the next few slides, I explain the flow of data regarding the validation of the login credentials. The validation process passes data to the user details data base, which then passes to the search process. So here, there would not be a direct output back to the customer, however, the validation enables the customer's search query to be processed.

[@vector_rj]

wellexplained...👍👍

[@thebadoc]

Thank you for the feedback! I hope the info is helpful to you!

[@aa9716]

Thanks

[@thebadoc]

You're welcome! Thanks for watching.

[@douglasgwishiri1430]

well explained. thank you!

[@thebadoc]

You're welcome! I hope the info was valuable to you.

[@abdulo8963]

Hello BA Dr. Can you please make a video on how to consider stakeholders views during requirement gathering/management in a system upgrade project. Thank you

[@thebadoc]

I’ll get that added to the content pipeline. In the meantime, you would start with some type of brainstorming session to identify a list of potential stakeholders. Once the project team is established, you can create an onion diagram to establish where each stakeholder fits into the project. From there, you can create a matrix that includes each stakeholder and the viewpoint they should be assigned to. This may be facilitated through a workshop. The viewpoint categories range from project to project but common viewpoints are business process, data flow, user interaction, or overall business strategy. Once you have allocated each stakeholder to a viewpoint, you will need to determine what the requirement package (view) looks like for that specific viewpoint. This is basically what that information (requirements) the stakeholders in that viewpoint need in order to work effectively on the project. I hope that helps!

[@abdulo8963]

@@thebadoc Thanks for this! Appreciate!

[@thebadoc]

@@abdulo8963 You're very welcome!

[@abdulo8963]

@@thebadoc I almost forgot, I was once asked "what would you do if the product owner keep rejecting the user stories you have written as a BA even after adjusting them severally ". Your thoughts please!

[@thebadoc]

@@abdulo8963 It depends on why they are rejecting them. Try training the PO on writing user stories and letting the PO write them him/herself . Then you can follow up and refine the stories after they provide the core details. I have a tutorial on user stories that might help facilitate this for you.

[@andalonds]

Thought the data stores musy never do to an entity?

[@thebadoc]

Good point. A data store does not "pass" data to an entity. However, an entity can reference or retrieve data from a data store. This is something that can be clarified with the labeling of the flow lines.

[@F4UC3]

Thank you!

[@thebadoc]

You are very welcome! And thank you for watching!

[@hughjanus5342]

Hajur harko syllabus ma level 1 bata mathi xaina ho sir?

[@thebadoc]

Sorry, I'm not understanding your question. Can you ask in a different way?

[@tokmansite]

Hi there again! I've a comment about the 7th rule presented on "Rules and Best Practices" subsection. I thought that inside the required system there can be a process, which receives some datafrom one external entity, transform this data and send transformed data to another external entity - without the involvement of another process or data store. So, in such case there is no link to a data store or another process. Well, the case above doesn't meet the mentioned rule. Could you, please, comment the issue?

[@thebadoc]

Great observation. A process sending data to an external entity (or receiving data from it) is still considered a process. So rule number 7 just means that after processing, data must have a destination. It can be sent to another process for further manipulation, be sent as an output to an external entity (still a process), or it can be stored in a data store for later use. I hope that helps!

[@tokmansite]

Thx much for your help response 🤝

[@thebadoc]

@@tokmansite You are very welcome!

[@me435]

What book would you recommend for this?

[@thebadoc]

Data Flow Diagrams - Simply Put! by Lydia Bacheux is pretty good. You can check it out here: amzn.to/467iENi I hope that helps!

[@MohamedAymn]

Awesome!

[@thebadoc]

Glad you enjoyed it! And thanks for watching!!

[@mosesose6426]

i love this technique

[@thebadoc]

Me too! It's such a useful way to present information.

[@abdulrahmanismailali1064]

@@thebadoc can you help me & give me your phone number

[@thebadoc]

@@abdulrahmanismailali1064 As we are a virtual company, you can reach out to me at [e-mail]

[@tylerkeating1699]

When you say that there should not be more than 12 processes in a DFD, is that referring just to level 0 processes?

[@thebadoc]

Hi, Tyler! That's correct. Level 0 is the level that outlines the key process so you would have the max number of processes there to avoid confusion.

[@patryxsterv4523]

The fact you are "Michael White" I think is hilarious

[@thebadoc]

Ha! Glad I could entertaining you. Thanks for watching!

[@patryxsterv4523]

@@thebadoc thanks for the videos Helps with my studying

[@thebadoc]

@@patryxsterv4523 Excellent! Happy to help you on your studying journey. What are you studying for?

[@patryxsterv4523]

@@thebadoc software engineering Have some project , need to create an ERD diagram, FHD diagram Then CRUD and DFD , and at the end Class diagram and UML And simultaneously have some web based sql transport aplication to do

[@thebadoc]

@@patryxsterv4523 That's a great field of study! Wishing you much success on your journey! Be sure to check out my other videos if you haven't already. I also have a tutorial on the ERD, Sequence Diagram, and the Use case diagram, those might be helpful on your ERD and UML projects. Here is a link to the playlist: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y5rPqZZopMiIgc0

[@lllllllllqq]

有中文翻译 你是我爹

[@thebadoc]

Thanks for watching!

[@walangTaongBobo]

hi doc! great video. quick clarifaction, did you mean "All processes must have at least one input and output" right here? kzbin.info/www/bejne/l5OUdY1spJyEeNU

[@thebadoc]

Hi, Eric! Yes, it should be all "processes". Good catch! Glad you were paying attention 😉

[@patricechaula3430]

Thanks

[@thebadoc]

Thank you so much! I hope the information serves you well!